Gods
The Roman gods were immortal beings. History Formerly known as the gods of the ancient Greeks, the Roman gods took on new names and forms during the time of the Trojan war, long before Rome was founded. The first god to reveal herself was Venus, known to the Greeks as Aphrodite who, with the mortal Anchises had a son named Aeneas, the last surviving hero of Troy. He travelled endlessly until he landed on the shores of Italy. His descendants, the twins Romulus and Remus, were the sons of Mars, known to the Greeks as Ares. With the founding of the city of Rome, almost all other gods assumed Roman names for themselves. They became more disciplined and warlike, the gods of a new civilization. Capabilities List of Gods and Goddesses The Dii Consentes *[[Jupiter|'Jupiter Optimus Maximus']]: King of the gods, god of the heavens and storms *[[Juno|'Juno Moneta']]: Queen of the gods, matrimony, marriage and childbirth. *[[Neptune|'Neptune']]: God of the seas, oceans, rivers, earthquakes and horses *[[Ceres|'Ceres']]: Goddess of the harvest. *[[Mars|'Mars Ultor']]: God of War, Destruction and Masculinity. Pater of the Roman people and the guardian of soldiers and farmers. *[[Venus|'Venus']]: God of love, beauty, sex, fertility, prosperity, victory and desire. *[[Bacchus|'Bacchus']]: God of the grape harvest, wine making and wine, of ritual madness, fertility, theater and religious ecstasy. *[[Apollo|'Apollo']]: God of the sun, poetry, music, oracles. *[[Diana|'Diana']]: G''oddess of the hunt, the moon, nature, wild animals and woodlands.'' *[[Minerva|'Minerva']]: Goddess of wisdom, war, the arts, industries and trades. *[[Mercury|'Mercury']]: Messenger of the gods and bearer of souls to the underworld. *[[Vulcan|'Vulcan']]: God of fire, volcanoes, metalworking and the forge. Minor gods *Trivia: Goddess of sorcery, witchcraft, graveyards and crossroads. *Aesculapius: God of medicine *Hercules: God of strength *Bellona: Goddess of war *Cupid: God of love *Juventas: *Portunus: *Proserpina: *Aeolus: *Fortuna: Goddess of fortune. * Aesculapius, the Roman equivalent of Asclepius, god of health and medicine. *Arcus: *Hercules, god of strength, whose worship was derived from the Greek hero Heracles but took on a distinctly Roman character. *Discordia: *Victoria: G''oddess of victory.'' *Faunus: *Invidia: *Victoria: *Letus: *Timor: God of fear *Formido: God of terror *Salacia: *Somnus: God of sleep *Somnia: *Favonius: *Auster: *Vulturnus: *Aquilon: God of the northern wind. *Ariana: *Flora: *Lucina: *Concordia: *Triton: *Justitia: *Pax: God of peace *Risus: *Senectus: *Occasio: *Lupa: *Janus: *Pomona: *Terminus: God of boundaries *Disciplina: Goddess of discipline *Abundantia: *Bubona: *Epona: *Hersilia: *Liberalitas: *Libertas: *Libitina: *Fontus: *Hilaritas: *Silvanus: *Honos: *Abundantia, divine personification of abundance and prosperity. * Acca Larentia, a diva of complex meaning and origin in whose honor the Larentalia was held . * Acis, god of the Acis River in Sicily. * Aerecura, goddess possibly of Celtic origin, associated with the underworld and identified with Proserpina. * Aequitas, divine personification of fairness. * Aeternitas, goddess and personification of eternity. * Aion (Latin spelling Aeon), Hellenistic god of cyclical or unbounded time, related to the concepts of aevum or saeculum * Aius Locutius, divine voice that warned the Romans of the imminent Gallic invasion. * Alernus or Elernus (possibly Helernus), an archaic god whose sacred grove (lucus) was near the Tiber river. He is named definitively only by Ovid. The grove was the birthplace of the nymph Cranea, and despite the obscurity of the god, the state priests still carried out sacred rites (sacra) there in the time of Augustus.25 Alernus may have been a chthonic god, if a black ox was the correct sacrificial offering to him, since dark victims were offered to underworld gods.26 Dumézil wanted to make him a god of beans. * Angerona, goddess who relieved people from pain and sorrow. * Angitia, goddess associated with snakes and Medea. * Anna Perenna, early goddess of the "circle of the year", her festival was celebrated March 15. * Annona, the divine personification of the grain supply to the city of Rome. * Antevorta, goddess of the future and one of the Camenae; also called Porrima. * Arkeus Ultor, Roman God of Battle; son of Mars and Bellona.needed * Arimanius, an obscure Mithraic god. * Aura, often plural Aurae, "the Breezes". * Aurora, goddess of the dawn. * Averruncus, a god propitiated to avert calamity. * Bacchus, god of wine, sensual pleasures, and truth, originally a cult title for the Greek Dionysus and identified with the Roman Liber. * Bellona or Duellona, war goddess. * Bona Dea, the "women's goddess"28 with functions pertaining to fertility, healing, and chastity. * Bonus Eventus, divine personification of "Good Outcome". * Bubona, goddess of cattle. * Caca, an archaic fire goddess and "proto-Vesta";29 the sister of Cacus. * Cacus, originally an ancient god of fire, later regarded as a giant. * Caelus, god of the sky before Jupiter. * Camenae, goddesses with various attributes including fresh water, prophecy, and childbirth. There were four of them: Carmenta, Egeria, Antevorta, and Postvorta. * Cardea, goddess of the hinge (cardo), identified by Ovid with Carna (below) * Carmenta, goddess of childbirth and prophecy, and assigned a flamen minor. The leader of the Camenae. * Carmentes, two goddesses of childbirth: Antevorta and Postvorta or Porrima, future and past. * Carna, goddess who preserved the health of the heart and other internal organs. * Clementia, goddess of forgiveness and mercy. * Cloacina, goddess who presided over the system of sewers in Rome; identified with Venus. * Concordia, goddess of agreement, understanding, and marital harmony. * Consus, chthonic god protecting grain storage. * Cura, personification of care and concern who according to a single source30 created humans from clay. * Cybele, an imported tutelary goddess often identified with Magna Mater * Dea Dia, goddess of growth. * Dea Tacita ("The Silent Goddess"), a goddess of the dead; later equated with the earth goddess Larenta. * Decima, minor goddess and one of the Parcae (Roman equivalent of the Moirai). The measurer of the thread of life, her Greek equivalent was Lachesis. * Devera or Deverra, goddess who ruled over the brooms used to purify temples in preparation for various worship services, sacrifices and celebrations; she protected midwives and women in labor. * Diana, goddess of the hunt, the moon, virginity, and childbirth, twin sister of Apollo and one of the Dii Consentes. * Diana Nemorensis, local version of Diana. The Roman equivalent of Artemis goddess * Dius Fidius, god of oaths, associated with Jupiter. * Disciplina, personification of discipline. * Dis Pater or Dispater, god of wealth and the underworld; perhaps a translation of Greek Plouton (Pluto). * The Gallo-Roman horse goddess Epona * Egeria, water nymph or goddess, later considered one the Camenae. * Empanda or Panda, a goddess whose temple never closed to those in need. * Epona, Gallo-Roman goddess of horses and horsemanship, usually assumed to be of Celtic origin. * Falacer, obscure god. He was assigned a minor flamen. * Fama, goddess of fame and rumor. * Fascinus, phallic god who protected from invidia (envy) and the evil eye. * Fauna, goddess of prophecy, but perhaps a title of other goddesses such as Maia. * Faunus, god of flocks. * Faustitas, goddess who protected herd and livestock. * Februus, god of Etruscan origin for whom the month of February was named; concerned with purification * Febris, "Fever," goddess with the power to cause or prevent fevers and malaria. * Fecunditas, personification of fertility. * Felicitas, personification of good luck and success. * Ferentina, patron goddess of the city Ferentinum, Latium, protector of the Latin commonwealth. * Feronia, goddess concerned with plebeians, freedmen, and liberality in a general sense. * Fides, personification of loyalty. * Flora, goddess of flowers, was assigned a flamen minor. * Fornax, goddess probably conceived of to explain the Fornacalia, "Oven Festival." * Fontus or Fons, god of wells and springs. * Fufluns, god of wine, natural growth and health. He was adopted from Etruscan religion. * Fulgora, personification of lightning. * Furrina, goddess whose functions are mostly unknown, but in archaic times important enough to be assigned a flamen. * Genius, the tutelary spirit or divinity of each individual * Gratiae, Roman term for the Charites or Graces. * * Hermaphroditus, an androgynous Greek god whose mythology was imported into Latin literature. * Honos, a divine personification of honor. * Hora, the wife of Quirinus. * Indiges, the deified Aeneas. * Intercidona, minor goddess of childbirth; invoked to keep evil spirits away from the child; symbolised by a cleaver. * Inuus, god of fertility and sexual intercourse, protector of livestock. * Invidia, goddess of envy and wrongdoing. * A janiform sculpture, perhaps of Janus * Janus, double-faced or two-headed god of beginnings and endings and of doors. * Juno, Queen of the Gods and goddess of matrimony, and one of the Dii Consentes.The Roman equivalent of Hera goddess. * Jupiter, King of the Gods and the storm, air, and sky god, father of Venus, and one of the Dii Consentes; was assigned a flamen maior. Also known as Zeus in Greek mythology. * Justitia, goddess of justice. * Juturna, goddess of fountains, wells, and springs. * Juventas, goddess of youth. * Lares, household gods. * Laverna, patroness of thieves, con men and charlatans. * Latona, goddess of light. * Levana, goddess of the rite through which fathers accepted newborn babies as their own. * Letum, personification of death.needed * Liber, a god of male fertility, viniculture and freedom, assimilated to Roman Bacchus and Greek Dionysus. * Libera, Liber's female equivalent, assimilated to Roman Proserpina and Greek Persephone. * Liberalitas, goddess or personification of generosity. * Libertas, goddess or personification of freedom. * Libitina, goddess of death, corpses and funerals. * Lua, goddess to whom soldiers sacrificed captured weapons, probably a consort of Saturn. * Lucifer, god of the morning star * Lucina, goddess of childbirth, but often as an aspect of Juno. * Luna, goddess of the moon. * Lupercus, god of shepherds and wolves; as the god of the Lupercalia, his identity is obscure, but he is sometimes identified with the Greek god Pan. * Lympha, often plural lymphae, a water deity assimilated to the Greek nymphs. * Capitoline Triad of Juno, Jupiter, and Minerva * Mana Genita, goddess of infant mortality * Manes, the souls of the dead who came to be seen as household deities. * Mania, the consort of the Etruscan underworld god Mantus, and perhaps to be identified with the tenebrous Mater Larum; not to be confused with the Greek Maniae. * Mantus, an Etruscan god of the dead and ruler of the underworld. * Mars, god of war and father of Romulus, the founder of Rome; one of the Archaic Triad assigned a flamen maior; lover of Venus; one of the Dii Consentes.Greek equivalent-Ares. * Mater Matuta, goddess of dawn and childbirth, patroness of mariners. * Meditrina, goddess of healing, introduced to account for the festival of Meditrinalia. * Mefitis or Mephitis, goddess and personification of poisonous gases and volcanic vapours. * Mellona or Mellonia, goddess of bees and beekeeping. * * Mithras, god worshipped in the Roman empire; popular with soldiers. * Molae, daughters of Mars, probably goddesses of grinding of the grain. * Moneta, minor goddess of memory, equivalent to the Greek Mnemosyne. Also used as an epithet of Juno. * Mors, personification of death and equivalent of the Greek Thanatos. * Morta, minor goddess of death and one of the Parcae (Roman equivalent of the Moirai). The cutter of the thread of life, her Greek equivalent was Atropos. * Murcia or Murtia, a little-known goddess who was associated with the myrtle, and in other sources was called a goddess of sloth and laziness (both interpretations arising from false etymologies of her name). Later equated with Venus in the form of Venus Murcia. * Mutunus Tutunus, a phallic god. * Neptune velificans on a 3rd-century mosaic * Naenia, goddess of funerary lament. * Nascio, personification of the act of birth. * Necessitas, goddess of destiny, the Roman equivalent of Ananke. * Nemesis, goddess of revenge (Greek). * Neptune, god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses, and one of the Dii Consentes. Greek Equivalent is Poseidon. * Nerio, ancient war goddess and the personification of valor. The consort of Mars. * Neverita, wife of Neptune; their quarrels caused sea storms.needed * Nixi, also di nixi, dii nixi, or Nixae, goddesses of childbirth,. * Nona, minor goddess, one of the Parcae (Roman equivalent of the Moirai). The spinner of the thread of life, her Greek equivalent was Clotho. * Nox, goddess of night, derived from the Greek Nyx. * Ops or Opis, goddess of resources or plenty. * Orcus, a god of the underworld and punisher of broken oaths. * Palatua, obscure goddess who guarded the Palatine Hill. She was assigned a flamen minor. * Pales, deity of shepherds, flocks and livestock. * Parcae, the three fates. * Pax, goddess of peace; equivalent of Greek Eirene. * Aeneas and the Penates, from a 4th-century manuscript * Penates or Di Penates, household gods. * Picumnus, minor god of fertility, agriculture, matrimony, infants and children. * Picus, Italic woodpecker god with oracular powers. * Pietas, goddess of duty; personification of the Roman virtue pietas. * Pilumnus, minor guardian god, concerned with the protection of infants at birth. * Pluto, Greek Plouton, a name for the ruler of the dead popularized through the mystery religions and Greek philosophy, sometimes used in Latin literature and identified with Dis pater or Orcus. * Poena, goddess of punishment.needed * Pomona, goddess of fruit trees, gardens and orchards; assigned a flamen minor. * Porrima, goddess of the future. Also called Antevorta. One of the Carmentes and the Camenae. * Portunes, god of keys, doors, and livestock, he was assigned a flamen minor. * Postverta or Prorsa Postverta, goddess of childbirth and the past, one of the two Carmentes (other being Porrima). * Priapus, imported phallic guardian of guardians. * Proserpina, Queen of the Dead and a grain-goddess, the Roman equivalent of the Greek Persephone. * Providentia, goddess of forethought. * Pudicitia, goddess and personification of chastity, one of the Roman virtues. Her Greek equivalent was Aidôs. * Querquetulanae, nymphs of the oak. * Quirinus, Sabine god identified with Mars; Romulus, the founder of Rome, was deified as Quirinus after his death. Quirinus was a war god and a god of the Roman people and state, and was assigned a flamen maior; he was one of the Archaic Triad gods. * Quiritis, goddess of motherhood. Originally Sabine or pre-Roman, she was later equated with Juno. * Robigo or Robigus, a god or goddess who personified grain disease and protected crops. * Roma, personification of the Roman state. * Rumina, goddess who protected breastfeeding mothers. * Sol Invictus, or Christ depicted in his guise. 3rd century AD * Salacia, goddess of seawater, wife of Neptune. * Salus, goddess of the public welfare of the Roman people; came to be equated with the Greek Hygieia. * Sancus, god of loyalty, honesty, and oaths. * Saturn, a titan, god of harvest and agriculture, the father of Jupiter, Neptune, Juno, and Pluto. * Securitas, goddess of security, especially the security of the Roman empire. * Silvanus, god of woodlands and forests. * Sol Invictus, sun god. * Somnus, god of sleep; equates with the Greek Hypnos. * Soranus, a god later subsumed by Apollo in the form Apollo Soranus. * Sors, god of luck. * Spes, goddess of hope. * Stata Mater, goddess who protected against fires. Sometimes equated with Vesta. * Sterquilinus ("Manure"), god of fertilizer. Also known as Stercutus, Sterculius, Straculius, Struculius. * Suadela, goddess of persuasion, her Greek equivalent was Peitho. * Summanus, god of nocturnal thunder. * Sulis Minerva, a conflation of the Celtic goddess Sul and Minerva * Tedit * Tellumo or Tellurus, male counterpart of Tellus. * Tempestas, a goddess of storms or sudden weather, usually plural as the Tempestates * Terra Mater or Tellus, goddess of the earth and land.Greek equivalent-Gaea,mother of titans,consort of Caelus (Uranus). * Terminus, the rustic god of boundaries. * Tiberinus, river god; deity of the Tiber river. * Tibertus, god of the river Anio, a tributary of the Tiber. * Tranquillitas, goddess of peace and tranquility. * Trivia, goddess of crossroads and magic, equated with Hecate. * Ubertas, minor agricultural goddess, who personified fruitfulness of soil and plants, and abundance in general. * Unxia, minor goddess of marriage, concerned with anointing the bridegroom's door. The name occurs as a surname of Juno. * Venus, Mars, and Cupid on a wall painting from Pompeii * Vacuna, ancient Sabine goddess of rest after harvest who protected the farmers' sheep; later identified with Nike and worshipped as a war goddess. * Vediovus or Veiovis, obscure god, a sort of anti-Jupiter, as the meaning of his name suggests. May be a god of the underworld. * Venilia or Venelia, sea goddess, wife of Neptune or Faunus.needed * Venti, the winds, equivalent to the Greek Anemoi: North wind Aquilo(n) or Septentrio (Greek Boreas); South wind Auster (Greek Notus); East wind Vulturnus (Eurus); West wind Favonius (Zephyrus); Northwest wind Caurus or Corus (see minor winds). * Venus, goddess of love, beauty, sexuality, and gardens; mother of the founding hero Aeneas; one of the Dii Consentes. * Veritas, goddess and personification of the Roman virtue of veritas or truth. * Verminus, god of cattle worms. * Vertumnus, Vortumnus or Vertimnus, god of the seasons, and of gardens and fruit trees. * Vica Pota, goddess of victory and competitions. * Virbius, a forest god, the reborn Hippolytus. * Virtus, god or goddess of military strength, personification of the Roman virtue of virtus. * Volturnus, god of water, was assigned a flamen minor. Not to be confused with Vulturnus. * Voluptas, goddess of pleasure.